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THE DIRECTOR, Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research, at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre (KAIPC), Dr Kwesi Aning, has advised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo not to take up the fight against corruption now.

According to the security expert, it will be wrong for the President to combine the fight against corruption with that of the ongoing fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.

Dr Aning said President Akufo-Addo would find it suicidal to abandon the stance his government has taken against the menace of illegal mining, in their quest to protect the environment for the survival of present and future generations.

According to him, the oath Mr Akufo-Addo took during his swearing-in as President of the land enjoins him to uphold the constitution and protect the integrity and sovereignty of Ghana, which entails protecting the nation and its people as well as its natural resources.

Currently a 400 joint military-police anti-galamsey taskforce has been deployed to fight the menace.

President Akufo Addo has also made his intentions clear on fighting corruption and has initiated steps to set up the office of Special Prosecutor, the Bill to which effect is currently before Parliament.

But speaking to Bola Ray on ‘Starr Chat’ on Starr FM, Dr Aning, who said no government in Ghana can fight corruption well, noted that adding the fight against corruption to the ongoing fight against galamsey would be just too much of a big bite for the President.

“No government in this country can fight corruption well. I’ve advised President Akufo-Addo not to add the corruption fight right now to the galamsey fight. Because the people who are involved in galamsey are also involved in corruption and it will just be too much of a big bite for the President. So let’s fight the galamsey fight which is going fairly well [around 52%] and see how we would identify those who are behind the galamsey. Because the galamsey fight will expose some of the most corrupt people.

“In all the galamsey fight, no important Ghanaian has been arrested. But there are Ghanaians involved… important ones. How do you import equipment from China or Ukraine or Russia and you pass them (sic) through the ports if some important person is not part of it.? So there are a few important tough questions we need to ask which we’re not asking yet. So the corruption fight is important but I think we shouldn’t combine it with galamsey fight.”